Special Report | The ICT saga - Mail & Guardian Online

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ArcelorMittal to raise prices over Kumba dispute: ArcelorMittal SA, a unit of the world's top steelmaker, will raise prices to partially ease the impact of an ongoing dispute over iron-ore supplies.
ArcelorMittal sees pricing dispute hearing in 2012: ArcelorMittal said on Friday it expects arbitration proceedings relating to its stake in Kumba Iron Ore's Sishen mine to be heard early next year.
ArcelorMittal seeks to join case against Imperial: ArcelorMittal South Africa has decided to join Kumba Iron Ore in its legal case against Imperial Crown Trading.
Sishen row: Hawks' raids rattle top politicos: A key Gupta lieutenant and the deputy president's girlfriend are drawn into the fray.
Kumba launches broadside against Imperial's prospects: Mining giant Kumba are arguing in court that Imperial Crown Trading submitted a "fraudulent" prospecting right to the department of mineral resources.
State to charge Kumba over Sishen dispute: The state is due to lay charges against Kumba Iron Ore over its application for a mining right over the company's Sishen mine it did not yet own.
Everything you wanted to know about the Sishen row: Are you tired of hearing about Kumba, which sounds more like a song than a mining company? Here's a breakdown of the story.
ArcelorMittal ends talks on Kumba BEE deal: ArcelorMittal says it would not proceed with a much-criticised black economic empowerment deal after its conditions were not met by Kumba Iron Ore.
ArcelorMittal SA deal with ICT lapses: ArcelorMittal SA has dropped its acquisition of Imperial Crown Trading for R800-million.
Christmas comes to Sishen mine: Workers at Kumba's operation in the Northern Cape will soon receive an empowerment windfall.

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Sishen: The story so far

Under 2004 mining legislation, companies were required to convert mining rights under old law by applying for “new order” rights by May 1 2009.

By the deadline, iron-ore miner Kumba, had applied to convert its 78.6% stake in the Sishen iron mine. But steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, with the remaining 21.4%, had not. Kumba and an obscure shelf company, Imperial Crown Trading 289 (ICT), raced to acquire the rights to ArcelorMittal’s 21.4% stake, estimated to be worth R800-billion over the mine’s remaining life. But May 1 -- a Friday -- was a public holiday.

On Monday May 4, Kumba and Imperial’s applications for the vacant Sishen stake were recorded on the department’s system in Kimberley. ICT applied for a prospecting right, Kumba for a mining right. Controversy now surrounds both applications.

ICT claims Kumba acted deceitfully by handing in its application early and asking department officials to lodge it on May 4.

Kumba claims that ICT’s application was not ready on May 4, but that officials recorded ICT’s application as lodged on that day -- even though ICT’s application trickled in over succeeding days.

Both companies also accuse one another of bribing officials to tamper with their rival’s application.

In November 2009, the department handed ICT a prospecting right on the basis that both applications had arrived on May 4, but that ICT had superior BEE credentials.

ICT is also well-connected politically: it includes a host of individuals connected to either President Jacob Zuma or his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.

In August 2010 Arcelor offered to buy out Imperial and incorporate its directors into a new consortium that included President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane and Parekh, making them instant billionaires.

But the buy-out was never consummated. Instead, Kumba and Arcelor won a High Court judgment in December 2011 that mineral rights over a single area are indivisible and that Arcelor’s old order 21.4% stake is fully Kumba’s.

ICT are now out in the cold, although it finalised its appeal against Zondo’s ruling last week. In July 2011, the Hawks raided ICT’s office and the department in Kimberley for evidence of fraud when the applications were made.

ICT has challenged the legality of the raids, and the seized materials are currently out of the Hawks’ reach. – Lionel Faull

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Zuma Inc -- the Sishen story simplified

Confused about the controversial Sishen mining deal, involving Jacob Zuma's son? M&G investigative journalist Adriaan Basson takes us step by step through the complex investigation in this video.